Senior Test Engineer

Join to apply for the Senior Test Engineer role at UK Home Office.

Overview

The Quality Assurance and Test (QAT) function in the Home Office is one of the largest in the industry, involving about 850+ specialists. We use new technology and platforms to help development teams meet user needs and improve service delivery. As a Senior Test Engineer you will work across all Home Office business areas, helping to shape the future of QA and support the effective delivery of government goals.

Responsibilities

• Actively maintain existing test frameworks or develop new ones, including code refactoring where required.
• Develop automated tests that are predictable and repeatable, implementing automated verification of acceptance criteria. Review test automation code, configure, monitor and trigger tests on demand as well as continuously evaluate the efficacy of this process.
• Determine and implement tools and approaches for virtualisation, data mocking, contract testing, automated integration testing, test data management, result aggregation and release management. Enable precise, real‑time reports of automation test runs.
• Manage test infrastructure usage and determine approach to running distributed, parallel tests. Use container and cloud technology to orchestrate faster, scalable tests.
• Interpret data from code scan, code quality and observability tools; agree quality thresholds and provide actionable feedback to aid quality improvement.
• Participate in the QAT Test Engineering community to help grow it.

Skills & Experience

• Programming using Java to write secure, reusable, and maintainable automated tests and utilities, with knowledge of thread, resource and memory management. Familiarity with scripting languages such as Bash or PowerShell is essential.
• Experience with Selenium for front‑end automation, RestAssured for API testing, Serenity BDD, Maven or Gradle, and Git for distributed version control.
• Working with unit test frameworks like JUnit, assertion libraries, data serialization tools, and WireMock for test automation.
• Familiarity with POM design pattern, SOLID principles, coding guidelines and standards, and BDD tools such as Cucumber.
• Experience with CI/CD tools, understanding of release pipelines and jobs, and familiarity with containerization platforms such as Docker.

Benefits

• Exceptional pension: Employer contribution of 28.97 %
• Generous leave: 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 with service), 8 public holidays, 1 day for the King’s Birthday.
• Flexible working: full‑time, part‑time, compressed hours, job sharing, and a hybrid model (minimum 60 % on‑site).
• Learning and development: access to training, technical accreditations and funded qualifications (subject to approval).
• Inclusion and recognition: culture that champions diversity, enhanced parental leave schemes, annual bonuses and recognition awards.

Security Clearance

This role requires SC clearance. To meet national security vetting requirements, you must have been resident in the UK for at least five years.

Seniority level

Mid‑Senior level

Employment type

Full‑time

Job function

Information Technology, Management, and Business Development.

Apply

Ready to lead and innovate? Click "Apply" to access the full job description and salary details.